WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT YOUR FAMILY?

The parenting website All Pro Dad asked recently, “What do you know about your family?” For example, they asked whether your children know:
the name of your first pet and how you got it,
your favorite food when you were growing up and who made it for you, or
how much you made an hour for your first job?

On the other side, they also ask, "Do you know your children’s...
favorite holiday memory?
dream vacation spot?
current best friend?"

There are more of these. You can find them by pointing your Internet browser to: http://www.allprodad.com/playbook/viewarticle.php?art=386.

Now let me ask you: do your children (whether their young or grown) know:
the time you felt closest to God?
a time you felt God had abandoned you?
what you believe about heaven?

And/or do you know your children’s:
thoughts about God?
feelings about the church?
reasons for believing or not believing in God?

Some people believe that we ought to let our children come to their own conclusions about faith. In the long run, we really have no choice. In fact, many children rebel against their parents' beliefs in adolescence. But if they don’t know what you believe, and you don’t know what they believe, what is there even to rebel against?

As May turns into June, we find ourselves traveling between two parenting holidays: Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. This is a prime opportunity to learn from both your children and your parents what their faith means to them. Use this article as an icebreaker if this is new territory for you. Learn at least one new thing about a family member this week, and you will have started down the road to a closer, more meaningful relationship and probably a happier life for you both.

GIVE UP LENTEN ACTIVITIES FOR LENT?

When I saw the local funeral director at the post office Monday morning, he asked how I was doing. I responded, "Great! It's the day after Easter!" When I thought about that comment, I wondered why I should be so glad that Easter is over--Easter, the highest point in the Christian year. Actually, the season of Easter lasts eight weeks, so it isn't really over. What is over is Lent.

Lent, a season set aside for reflection and reconnection with God in preparation for the celebration of the Resurrection, often gets filled up with extra activities that can easily keep us from engaging in the reflection and reconnection we seek. There are extra worship services, extra Bible studies, extra choir practices perhaps (in our case, for both Holy Week and Easter), and, of course, practice for the Passion drama Palm Sunday, among other things. This year, we even had a couple of winter storms thrown in for good measure. In addition, I decided this year to try to read through all four of the gospels during Lent. I didn't make it. I didn't have time.

I also didn't have time to take the Lenten retreat I desired in order to sit back and ponder the meaning of both Lent and Easter, so as Easter approached, I felt tense and unprepared. Which makes me wonder whether we ought to give up most of our special Lenten activities and preparations and take just take some time to sit at Jesus feet, like his friend Mary did.

Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed [Jesus] into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me." But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:38-42 (NRSV)

I don't know whether I would actually spend more time "at the Lord's feet" if I didn't have all those other activities. Some of them may even help me reconnect with him. But next Lent I just might have to take a look at which of those Lenten activities I might be able to give up in order to spend more time in reflection and less time being "worried and distracted by many things."

In the mean time, happy Easter!

Blessings,
John

WHO'S YOUR FRIEND?

"I longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." (John 15:15, NIV)

I've just about stopped adding to my list of "friends" on Facebook. While it might be nice to think that I'm friends with my bishop, a famous author, or even a kid in the youth group, I've begun to have second thoughts whenever I'm asked to add another "friend" to my list.

To me a friend is one with whom I can share my innermost hopes and dreams, as well as my trials and defeats. A friend is one who, whether I write to express a new thought or an old emotion, will write back to show his/her understanding. Few of my Facebook "friends" will do any such thing. Come to think of it, few people I know will do that at all. I written before that Facebook friends seemed to be consumed with what they themselves are doing. That's not always the case, but it often seems to be. Even some non-Facebook people who say they are my friends grow weary after a while of responding.

The old hymn, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" says that Jesus is our friend, because we can take all of our griefs and cares to him in prayer. On the other hand, Jesus himself told his disciples that he considered them his friends because he had already told them everything he had learned from his Father.

Let me rephrase that. I tend to consider someone a friend if I can tell him/her what's on my mind and get a response. Jesus called his disciples friends, because he had told them everything that was on his Father's mind. What kind of response did he expect? Just one verse prior to the one above he tells them: "You are my friends if you do what I command" (vs. 14).

And what is that? "Love each other as I have loved you" (vs. 12). It is love that on the Father's mind constantly. It is his Father's love that Jesus tried to teach and demonstrate in his interactions with his own followers and friends. In turn, it is that love that he expected, even commanded, those who followed him to share with others.

Many people, myself included, tend to think of friends as people who will demonstrate a friendly sort of love to them. In that way we try to make them our servants. Jesus, on the other hand, expects his friends to demonstrate love for one another, to, in effect, be each other's servants.

Now, as I go down my list of Facebook friends (and other friends, as well), a new thought will occupy my mind: "How can I show them God's love?" When I'm through doing that for the "friends" I already have listed, I just may have add some new ones. That is how God's love spreads.

Blessings,
John

Where are the sick?

"Jesus said to them, 'It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.'" (Mark 2:17).

Time after time I've seen it. Someone makes a mistake with their life--something obvious and public--and all of a sudden they disappear from church. Or someone becomes mentally ill, and the same thing occurs. When you get sick, you go to the doctor. When you get really sick, you go to the hospital. But get spiritually sick, and suddenly you are isolated as if you have some horriby contageous disease.

Jesus encouraged the spiritually sick to come to him, so why is that the church seems to be such an anti-magnet to the same crowd? Could it be that the majority of people in the church (pastors included) are under the illusion that we are spiritually healthy, and that the sick belong somewhere else, lest they "infect" the rest of us? Where else can they go to encounter Jesus in his flesh and blood--in the body and blood of Christ that is offered in Holy Communion and in the flesh and blood of human beings created in the image of God and redeemed by Jesus so that they might BE Jesus to others in this world. Shunning them or (God forbid) driving them away would be like the hospital receptionist telling a prospective patient that he/she is too sick to be there, and yet it happens all too often in real life.

A colleague of mine decided this past week to remain an independent evangelist rather than tie himself down to a particular congregation. I was disappointed, because I believe that he needs the stability a congregation would bring, but I also understand. As an independent evangelist he is free to minister to those who know they are spiritually ailing, wherever he might find them. As a pastor in a congregation he might well be distracted by the concerns of those who believe they are healthy, or at least pretend that they are, while hiding their sickness inside. The reality is that a parish pastor typically ministers to both, and, if fortunate, he/she can empower those who really are more healthy to help those who are more in need of spiritual healing. That is the power and potential of true Christian community.

My fervent desire for the church is that it might become more like an Alcoholics Anonymous group, where everyone knows that he/she is still sick and in need of constant repentance and reassurance, where the confession we say at the beginning of the worship service is said honestly and with a passion, so that everyone who comes might be willing to simply relax into the company of fellow sinners who are only too eager to help each other experience the love of our Creator God, the redemption of Jesus Christ, the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and the blessed consolation of the saints who are the living body of Christ.

STAY CONNECTED

In the middle of a storm, it's important to stay connected. I've heard stories of blizzards on the farm, when farmers would tie a rope from the house to the barn, so that they wouldn't get lost or disoriented and wind up stuck out in the cold and snow. Nowadays, if someone should have to venture out on the road in a storm, they can take along a cell phone and keep people on each end of their journey informed as to their progress. Either way, staying connected is not only a good idea, it can save a person's life.

Likewise, as you and I encounter difficult times in life, it's also important for us to stay connected--to people we know and love, to groups and/or practices that keep us anchored, and, of course, to God. In times of sickness, mourning, marital or financial trouble, staying connected through coffee-chats, phone calls, e-mails, worship, prayer and devotional reading can help people see their way through the storm and back home to safe ground.

We're in the midst of quite a storm right now. Economic uncertainty, fighting in two countries, and competing moral values in society can leave us wondering where we're going, or at least, when we're going to "get there."

God knows and can guide us along our way. The Bible is full of stories of people who have weathered life's storms. Others close to us may have similar experiences and can offer wisdom and encouragement. Staying connected with any and all of these can help us to keep from getting lost in the present storm--and any future ones as well.

Life will always bring us storms. Winter snows give way to spring downpours and summer's tornados. Whatever the season, then, it's always important to stay connected.

Blessings,
John

HOW DO YOU SAY "THANK YOU"?

What's you favorite way to say, "Thank you"? Flowers? A card? A gift? The words alone? What's your favorite way to be thanked? Are the two the same?

Food and affection are two of my favorite ways both to thank and be thanked, but it depends on the person. Our congregation recently received quite a large gift of money from a relative of some of our members. I didn't send the donor food, and since he lives in another state, I couldn't give him a hug. I probably wouldn't have done that, anyway. I simply wrote him a letter suggesting the possible effects his gift might have on the congregation and its ministries.

Which reminds me: one of the ways that I say "Thank you" to God is through my gifts to the church and others who can put the money I give to use in the service of others. And one of the ways I might say "Thank you" to God for some new thing I have been able to purchase is to use it for the benefit of God's work in the world. For example, when our family got our new "media center" computer a couple of years ago, the first "media thing" I did on it was to make a DVD for a worship service. I didn't really plan it that way; it just happened. Granted, I have a calling that makes things like that more likely to happen, but it could happen to others, too.

You buy a new car, and the first thing you do with it is give someone a ride to the doctor's office who doesn't have a car of their own. You buy a new video game console, and first thing you do is to share it with your youth group. I had a counsin who used to invite Bible college students out to their lake cabin. There are certainly a lot of ways one can say "Thank You"--to God and to anyone else who happens to have blessed your day.

Blessings to you.
John

MIRACLES HAPPEN AS WE DO OUR JOBS

They're calling it "Miracle on the Hudson," the landing of a United Airways plane safely in the Hudson River after its engines were disabled by birds in flight. The captain is being hailed as a hero; he maintains he was just doing his job. That's often the way it goes.

Healing events that would have been considered miraculous even fifty (perhaps even twenty) years ago happen routinely today because doctors, nurses and researchers do the work they were trained to do. Mental illness that once may have been labeled as demon possession can now often be miraculously treated with drugs and/or therapy. A runner's pair of amazing prosthetic legs caused a stir when they were deemed an unfair advantage by his opponents. Just as it was said of Jesus, the blind receive sight, the lame walk, and the sick are healed, all because of people who day after day, simply do their jobs.

Certainly the unexplainable continues to happen: the untreatable illness that suddenly disappears, the unavoidable collision that is avoided, etc. But miracles large and small also happen when people like you and me use the gifts God has given us and the roles God has give us to do the work God has called us to do.

You see, we are God's hands in this world. We were put here to do God's holy work in the midst of God's creation. It's a miracle, they say, every time a baby is born. But it's a miracle, too, when you think of it, every time that same little child grows up to be a happy, healthy, responsible adult, because of the gentle guidance of a loving parent or guardian. It may have been a miracle that that airliner landed in the Hudson, but it's also a miracle that more such emergency landings do not occur--a miracle due in no small part to the skills practiced by those who design, build, test, maintain, inspect, fly and guide those planes. Sometimes it seems a miracle that one can put a teenager through a drivers'-training course and have him/her come out able to guide a ton of metal, plastic and rubber safely down the road. All too soon I will have to trust that the miracle will, indeed, occur for our own children, through the work of someone who is just doing his/her job.

So thank God for the unexplainable miracles, to be sure, but also for those that happen through the ordinary work that you, I, and others do day after day, with the miraculous help of God.

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR WITNESS

We buried a young man from our congregation today who leaves behind a wife and four children. It was cancer and its effects that claimed his life. Because he had been attending another congregation in town, I wasn't the one who had to lead the service. I'm glad, actually. The other pastor obviously knew the man better than I did. He even added some Lutheran touches, at my request. Besides, some of the circumstances hit a little too close to home--like a son age seven, the same age I was when my own father died.

What can one say under those circumstances? What can one say to comfort the mourning? What can one say to reassure a family who has suffered so untimely a loss of a husband, a father, a brother, a son? Three things stand out for me as one who was priviledged to be an observor. First, the pastor and others testified to the faith of the man. He did not ask why--at least out loud. He did not express fear. He did express his love for his family and his Lord. Secondly, there was talk of heaven, and the wonderful things awaiting those who die believing in Jesus. Third, there was talk of the love and support available here on earth from family and friends who surrounded the family with a blanket of caring.

Around four hundred people attended the funeral. Around three hundred attended the prayer service last night. All heard words of assurance proclaimed in Jesus' name. They heard, as well, an invitation to renew their faith in Christ. It makes one wonder if this death was planned as an opportunity for witness in ways that are often not possible while someone is alive. Surely it shows how instances of loss and sorrow can be used as opportunities for witness, just as Jesus used the death of his friend Lazarus as an opportunity to witness to the power of his Father in heaven to raise the dead to new life.

Just as surely, if such a sad occasion can be used to glorify God, we who are fortunate not to be mourning can use every opportunity available to us to glorify the one who gives us every blessing we experience here on earth, even as he promises life everlasting with him in heaven. It's sad that such opportunities should so often escape us in this life--that we should so often let them slip through our fingers.

I'd like to think that my own death should be an opportunity for people to witness to the power of almighty God. How much better, though, if I should take the opportunity to use my life as a witness, as well. While I still have it.

Blessings,
John

THREE WORDS CAN CONQUER A DEMON

In one of the first stories in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus casts a demon out of a man with just seven words: "Be silent and come out of him" (Mark 1:25). Now, seven is a biblical number symbolizing completion. You might say, then, that Jesus completely drove the demon away. However, I have a three-word sentence that also is potent against demons. Three is also a biblical number, and one that symbolizes the wholeness and relationship of God to Godself in Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Those three words are, "I love you."

Of course, you may not want to use those three words with just anyone. They tend to work best with family members or people you really care about. Think of what would happen if in the middle of a brutal argument with your spouse, one of you were to stop for a moment and say those three words: "I love you." What would happen to the argument?

Or suppose your teenage daughter gets mad, because you won't let her use the car, and she runs to her room screaming, "I hate you!" And you holler back, "I love you!" What might that do to those demons running rampant inside her young body that even she doesn't completely understand?

What about others? Well, I suppose you have to be careful. When the class bully, standing six feet four and weighing 240 pounds, comes looking for you, you might not want to tell him you love him. On the other hand, those three words could just send him running for cover! Or to tell the principal. In which case you might have some explaining to do.

There are other situations, though, where showing a little love might not hurt. One woman actually told me that she didn't believe that God loved her. I called my wife to my side and rebuked the demon of doubt within that woman by turning to John 3:16 and by taking her to the baptismal font to renew God's promise of love and commitment to her.

On another occasion, a young woman told me that she was pregnant by a boyfriend who didn't want anything more to do with her or the baby. It's an all-too-common occurrance. We talked; she wept; we prayed. She wondered aloud how she could have messed up so badly. I wanted to tell her that I loved her, not as another "boyfriend" might, which would have been wrong, but as a parent would, or a fellow Christian traveling on life's bumpy road. Instead, as I prepared to leave, I asked if it would okay if I hugged her. Even that's not always the smartest thing to do these days, but I did it, anyway. She said yes; we hugged; she wept again, and I told her that God loved her, a safer and even more powerful sentence under the circumstances. One has to mean it, of course. It can't be something that you just throw out there. But neither can the other three words.

Last night I had a dream. I was talking to a local businessman who seemed at the time somehow possessed by an unscrupulous demon, when I was moved to utter those three little words: "I love you." Suddenly stuff started to ooze out of him. It was weird! It was a dream, of course.

If the situation doesn't allow you to actually tell someone you love him/her, simply doing something nice can work just as well. Paul suggested responding to your enemies by giving them food and something to drink if they happen to be hungry or thristy, thereby heaping hot coals upon their heads (Romans 12:20). Nothing says "I love you"--to a man, anyway--like a good, hot meal or a glass of cold water (or some other cold beverage) offered on a hot day. And there is probably little that could drive a demon so wild, as it tries to figure out why you're being so doggone kind!

Remember these things, then, the next time you are confronted by someone with a demon.

Blessings,
John

WHEN I THINK OF TEACHERS...

I recently passed along a story about an insurance salesman who was doing God's work of ministry. It's time to comment on some other professions...like teachers, for instance.

When I think of teachers doing ministry, I remember my second-grade teacher, Lurie Rindahl, who was also a great-aunt through marriage. I was sick over half of my first year in school with various respiratory ailments and would have repeated first grade the next year. However, my father died that summer, and we moved to stay with my aunt Myrtle. Lurie, her sister-in-law, lived just a block away. She tutored me through the summer and got me to pass my first-grade tests, so that I could move on to join her class in the fall. That wasn't all, however. She and her husband provided a home-away-from-home where I could go to visit and play Yahtzee and other such games. They were childless, but they were like grandparents to me.

When I think of teachers as ministers, I think of a couple of math teachers, Mrs. Walker and Mr. Haugen. I would stay after school and talk (about what I don't remember), and they would oblige by listening. I think of Mr. Gander, the shop teacher, who taught me things my father probably would have taught me had he lived. I think of Mrs. Matthey, in sixth grade, who showed her special TLC to those who misbehaved in class (luckily, I wasn't among them), and who nearly always bought what I happened to be selling door to door. And I think of Mr. Boe, the principal--he of the thick Norwegian accent--who provided me with a job as student janitor and with it some needed male comraderie during my adolescent years.

Our school now has a program called "Teachers as Advisors," where teachers take time periodically to meet with students about their learning goals and other more personal matters. But another role has always been there, I believe. It's not a program; it's a calling. It's called teachers as ministers.

This one's for you, Cheryl. I hope that other teachers might see this, too.

Blessings,
John

THEY SAY IT’S MY BIRTHDAY!

Today is my 53rd birthday. It’s a day to celebrate another year that God has given me to do his work in the world. People who have lived through life-threatening situations like car accidents or cancer often report discovering a renewed meaning and passion for life. Some who have been told they have only a year more to live have discovered the same thing.

So…if you suddenly had another year added to your life, what would you do with it? What difference would it make to your family, to the work you do, to the world?

I thought of at least one thing I would want to do with an extra year: I would want to spend time with my grandchildren. That, in turn, implies two things to me.

1. I will have to live long enough to see them! My mother lived for seven months after our first child was born. My father didn't live to see any of his grandchildren. My wife Holly and I were about as old as my own parents when we got married, so if I want to be around to see my grand children, I’ll want to eat, exercise and live in a way that helps sustain my own life. I'll also want to help my children to do the same thing! Wanting to be around to see my grandchildren is a good incentive to do both.

2. I will want to nurture my relationships with my children. No one can guarantee where their children will wind up, and thus how often we might be able to see our grandchildren, but at the very least I ought to be nurturing my relationship with my children, so I have a reasonable chance of being on good terms with them when they grow to be adults and have families of their own. That also probably means that I’ll want to maintain a good relationship with their mother, as she is bound to have an impact on how I relate to my kids and grandkids now and in the future. Practicing saying “I love you,” learning how to listen and communicate effectively, and refraining from abuse and verbal put-downs can go a long way toward establishing the kind of relationship with my children that will make it more likely that my goal of hanging out with my grandchildren an extra year (or two) will be achieved.

Hmm…working on just those two things would make for a pretty good start to the extra year that God has given me to live on this earth, if I do say so myself!

Blessings,
John

DOING MINISTRY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE

Ministry is not confined to the church. It happens right where you live and work. A retired seminary professor shares this story:

Years ago I met an Episcopal bishop who told me he once visited the office of an insurance executive who invited him to look at some personal files to see what his work was like. When he saw how this executive had handled the case of a high school dropout, helping her continue in school and eventually achieve a significant position, he said, "This is Christian ministry." The executive replied, "I thought my ministry was being a church council member where for fifteen years I have tried without success to get the janitor on social security." With tears in his eyes he said, "Bishop, nobody ever told me what I do here at work is ministry." I told the bishop, "You had the authority to ordain him on the spot!" He laughed and replied, "'Pastorizing the laity' is not where it's at, but helping people discover their daily work is their ministry. That's where the Spirit's gifts empower us."

Dear God, you make the common holy. Help me in whatever I do this day and wherever I go to be your servant, your minister, whatever that task might be. Amen.

Loren Halvorson
Professor Emeritus of Pastoral Theology, Church & Society
Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN

GOD'S E-MAIL

A friend and ministry colleague I'm mentoring/coaching seems to call me whenever something comes up in his life or ministry. Good or bad. Sometimes two or three times a day. While by calling he gets an immediate response to the issue at hand, it's not always convenient for me; in fact, it gets a little annoying sometimes. I don't have any other friends who call that often, however, so I grin and bear it.

I also have a friend and colleague who is mentoring/coaching me. We talk via computerized phone connection once a month. Between calls I e-mail him as things come up. He, in turn, reads and responds on his own schedule. If I write on Sunday, it might be Tuesday before he gets back to me. It might take longer if he's gone on vacation or at a meeting somewhere. I've been know to send two or three e-mails a day, but since they're e-mails, he can respond to them as he has the time and the ability to think about what I've written. While it's more convenient for him, it can be hard for me to wait.

There is an advantage to his slower response, however: it gives me time to think about what I've written. Sometimes I come up with my own answer to a question or problem before he has a chance to get back to me. It's like what used to happen to me in school. I'd go up to my math teacher's desk with a question, and by the time I'd get to her, I'd already have the answer!

People have compared prayer to a telephone call to God. I think it's probably more like my e-mail exchanges with my mentor. Sometimes you have to wait a while to get an answer. However, when you do get a response, you know you can trust it. In the meantime, you have the opportunity to sort out some answers for yourself. The only difference is that, unlike a human correspondent, God is also involved in our sorting things out, even when he doesn't seem to give us a direct response.

So send your e-mails to God. He reads them all and responds to them all--at a time best suited to his purposes and to our spiritual growth.

PLAYING DEFENSE

My son Zachary surprised himself and others tonight by playing aggressive defense on the basetball court, blocking shots and causing the other team to turn over the ball. "He's such a nice, quiet boy," a former teacher remarked, surprised at his play. Her daughter was less surprised. She'd watched Zachary play basketball before. But as I said, even Zachary himself was surprised. He goes into a tournament tomorrow knowing, now, that he can play tough "D."

I'm afraid that Christians are not always so good at playing defense. At least Lutheran Christians. One of our problems is that we don't spend a lot of time even talking about the opposing team. Other Christian talk a lot about the sin, devil, and the forces of evil. Most Lutherans do not, which is sort of surprising, since Martin Luther himself talked quite a bit about the opposition.

Jesus faced the devil in the wilderness and won by knowing his Bible better than his opponent. Luther used God's word, too, as well as the knowledge that he had been made a child of God in baptism. Luther's knowledge of God's word and his identity as one claimed and saved by Christ helped him through some very difficult times, when the enemy threatened to take the lead.

In order to be able to defend against the forces of evil, we need to be able to recognize their tactics. Here are three of them and a way to defend against each, based on God's word:

Tactic: Trying to convince you that you are no good.
Defense: Remember Gen. 1:26, which says, "And God said, 'Let us make human beings in our image, after our likeness.'" If are made in the image of God, then it cannot be true that we are no good. We sin, yes. We rebel against what God wants for us, yes. But we are still made in God's likeness and intended to do good. As Paul wrote, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10).

Tactic: Pointing out other people's faults while persuading you to ignore your own.
Defense: Remember Jesus' own complaint: "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye" (Matthew 7:3-5). Taking care of your own faults first is not only good defense for your own faith but it might eventually help you to defend your neighbor, as well.

Tactic: Using advertising or your own pride to get you to work harder and harder to accumulate more money and things, meanwhile ignoring your faith, family, and friends.
Defense: Remembering Jesus' words, "Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these" (Luke 12:27). Another possible defense would be to volunteer for a mission trip to a developing country. That might change your perspective on what it means to be wealthy.

No doubt you can think of others. I invite you to think about the tactics that wind up defeating you and how you might defend against each. The tactics could come from the inside or the outside, be "quick and dirty" or subtle and intricately designed. Each one will probably require a slightly different defense. But know that the Bible provides some excellent defensive--as well as offensive--plays that you, too, can learn if you take the time to read it.

Taking the time to focus on your defense can go a long way toward helping you in your daily struggles with the forces that want to take you down. With a little to practice, who knows? You might surprise yourself and others, too!

CENTER YOUR SERVOS

The Boy Scouts in Wessington Springs are working with robots these days. No, they’re not using them to light their fires and erect their tents. They are building them to learn technology and communication skills. The “Boe-Bots,” as they are called, are not the humanoid robots of science-fiction movies but amount essentially to a circuit board on wheels. They can sense their surroundings and move accordingly, based on instructions their operators give them via computer.

One of the first steps in preparing these robots for their work is what’s called centering the servos. The servo motors that control the wheels of the robots arrive not having been finally adjusted at the factory. The boys have to make small adjustments so that a given command from the computer will result in the expected response. This is done by adjusting the motors so that a stop command from the computer actually results in the motors being stopped. If a screw on the motor is turned too much to the right, the motors will keeping going in one direction, even though the computer says, “Stop.” Too much to the left, and it will go in the opposite direction. Center the screw just right and the motor stops in its tracks, ready to take further commands correctly. However, if the builder does not take the time to go through this very important step, every command or situation encountered will result in something very unexpected, and the Boe-Bot will be rendered virtually uncontrollable.

Human beings are obviously not robots, but we, too, need to be “centered.” If not, the various “input” we receive in the course of everyday life can send us careening off in unexpected and even dangerous directions. Unlike the robots, we can’t be centered by turning a screw. Our centering takes place when we take the time to focus on our Lord and his design for us. God has created us in his image and has placed his own special “circuitry” within us. If we center ourselves in him and prepare ourselves to receive the commands he gives us, we will respond appropriately and faithfully to the situations we encounter in our everyday lives.

Such centering can happen when we take the time to study and meditate on God’s word in the Bible--or simply sit in silence listening to him. As we begin this new year, I invite you to take the time to center your spiritual “servos” by taking the time to focus on our Lord Jesus Christ.

As an aside, in this time of political transition, it is important for everyone to realize that Jesus is not on the “right” (conservative) or the “left” (liberal), but Jesus himself is the centering point on which everything in life depends and in whom it finds its resting place.

Take the time daily to center yourselves, and your actions will be much more likely to in line with his design. You may still go off in the wrong direction on occasionally, human beings being what we are, but you will be better prepared to stop and evaluate our actions, based on his commands.

Blessings to you this day.
John

WHAT ABOUT ME?

It's the sort of question that I expect church officials hear all too often:

When are you going to send us a new pastor?
When are you going to find me a new congregation?
Why don't you pay more attention to the small churches?
Why don't you pay more attention to the growing churches?
What about me?

That wasn't the sort of question Jesus asked when he walked this earth. He asked people to focus on the needs of the poor and the outcast. He sought to glorify his Father in heaven. In fact, the only time Jesus was even tempted to focus on his own needs and wants, it was Satan doing the tempting (see Matthew 4:1-12). And when from the cross he said, "I thirst," it was to verify what had been predicted centuries before and recorded in the Bible (see John 19:28).

One thing I have learned through the years is that at the right time, God will act, whether it is to provide for me or help me to provide for someone else. My job is focus on what GOD wants, which is that his reign over all things might be acknowledged and practiced by everyone, and that everyone all over the world might be reconciled and returned to him through his Son, Jesus Christ.

God will take care of me, so I can glorify him. That's true for the individual Christian as well as for the church.

God's blessings to you this day.

It All Depends How You Use It

Last month I joined Facebook, the popular social networking website. While it can be a great way to connect with people (sometimes people you haven't seen or heard from in a long time), my initial complaint was it seemed to me to be simply a place for people to talk about what they are doing at any particular moment:

"John Doe is vegging out watching TV."
"Jane Smith is at her grandparents' house and feeling bored."

Or for people to proclaim their affiliations:

"Sam Jones is a fan of Legos."
"Tammy Black is a fan of South Dakota."

I've not yet figured out what all is entailed in being a fan on Facebook. Perhaps it reflects my age that I'm not really interested. However, today I discovered a new way to use Facebook: writing on other people's "walls"! I'm not talking about graffitti here, but everyone home page has a place for people to write them messages that anyone who goes there will see. It's not a new thing. A lot of people write on other people's walls. The message might just say, "Hi, how are you!" It could say, "Where were you when I tried to call last night?" Or there could be an ongoing conversation about some issue of importance to the correspondents.

But the message also might be a way to express an affirmation for someone you know could use one (and who can't?). It could even be a way to announce when you've "caught" someone doing a good thing.

"Mary, I saw you give up your place in line for a younger kid in the lunch line today. Good going!"

"Bill, I appreciated the friendly way you dealt with a difficult customer today."

That sort of thing. The person him/herself might not even know they did it. Or they might not have intended anyone to know, but good deeds deserve to be proclaimed from the rooftops by others who happen to see them.

Jesus told his followers, "Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). We can be bearers of the light for others, when we give voice to the good things that they do.

Any means of communication might become shallow and self-serving. Or it could used to serve others, or even God. It all depends how you use it.

Starting Simple

My daughter Angela got a ukelele for her sixth birthday. She was so excited to learn how to play it! I looked at the lesson book that came with it and discovered a song that used only one chord--C. And that C chord used only one finger! So I tuned the ukelele, showed her the C chord and played her that one song. She took off from there. She even made up a song using that C chord.

"What chord do you want me to learn next, Daddy?"
"I don't know. What looks easy?"
She gave me a list of three. I picked one, and she was off again.

I wonder sometimes if we don't make Christianity too difficult for people. We've had some new people come to our church lately. When they've asked whether we have classes for them to take, I've given them a six-session DVD that teaches the Christian faith from a Lutheran perspective. I let people watch that on their own. Then I have them come together for a session to summarize the lessons and to learn some things about Our Savior's congregation specifically. I think that's pretty simple.

But what if someone came and said, " I want to learn about being a Christian. I don't know anything."? Would I give them that six-session video? Would I drop the Bible in their lap and tell them to start reading? Would that make them want to come back for more? I'm not so sure.

The Jews of Jesus time had 613 commandments and a host of rituals that people were supposed to learn and do. Jesus took those 613 commandments and boiled them down to two: "Love God with your whole being, and love your neighbor at least as much as you love yourself" (Matthew 22:37-39, my translation). And in case that should be a burden, one of Jesus' followers wrote this: "We love because God first loved us" (1 John 4:19). You can learn quite a bit about God and the Christian faith just from those two verses. What's more, they might result in more qustions.

"How can I love God?"
"How do I know God loves me?"
"Who is my neighbor?" There's a great story that goes with that one!

There's even a children's song to go with the verse from 1 John. I wonder if you can play it with just a C chord.

Blessings to you.
John

Out of the Pew, and into the World

I've been going to church since I was a baby, and going there by my own choice since I was nine and lived a half a block from Mayville Lutheran Church in Mayville, ND. I've enjoyed going to church. Many people do, but going to church is not the limit of Christian activity. It's only the beginning. Just before he left this earth, Jesus said, "Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19). You see, going to church is great, as long as when you're done, you go back out in the world and do what Jesus instructed us to do: help others learn what it means to be a disciple--that is, a follower--of Jesus.

This blog is one attempt to take what we do and talk about in church out into the world, and to help people who are living their lives out in the world to see how they might live them better by following what Jesus taught and did.

Since there is room for comments, it also means that this blog is an opportunity to bring what's going on in the world into the church, so that church people (including yours truly) might have a better idea about how to talk about Jesus when we are out in the world.

So, here we go...out into the world!